Title: Devil’s Dilemma
Author: Sirena Robinson
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Publish Date: November 30th 2013
Publisher: Injected Ink Productions
~ Book Synopsis ~
Griffin Javensen was born to die–to save a world that sought to destroy her and for a God that had forsaken her.
Griffin is the Chosen, a representative of the human race who will make the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve humanity and keep the world from ending. It all started the night she was ripped from her mother’s body. One second earlier or later, and she’d have been fine. But she was born at the right time, in the right circumstances, and she is Chosen. It was all downhill from there.
She is tormented through ten events granted to Alaria, a Devil who has been placed as Lucifer’s proxy and who has one foot in Hell and the other in Heaven. Alaria’s job is to convince Griffin that God has abandoned her. If she can do that, there’s a good chance Griffin will Choose Hell and demons will get to rule the world. There’s only one problem: Alaria wants what only God can give her, and what only Griffin can ask for: her humanity.
On her 29th birthday, instead of cake and ice cream, Griffin celebrates with demons and hell hounds. After barely escaping alive, it becomes obvious that she needs protection. Dr. Allen Winslow, the doctor who has saved her life several times, also happens to be from Warrior lines. Who better to protect Griffin than the best Warrior alive?
Enter Braxton–a rough and tumble Warrior with a chip on his shoulder, who has been having visions of Griffin since he was four years old–and Gabriel–an Archangel determined to save the world, desperately in love with the one woman he should never have, and torn between playing by the rules and doing what is right. There is only one goal–survive to January 1st.
Griffin’s duty is to offer her life as payment for the dubious privilege of being Chosen. The choice she has to make is simple: Heaven or Hell. Unfortunately, she is not simply choosing for herself. Her decision will determine the fate of humanity. As her time gets continuously shorter and the danger becomes more and more real, Braxton and Griffin make unlikely alliances and struggle with unstoppable emotions.
As midnight rushes closer and the battle escalates, the question becomes not whether Griffin will Choose, but whether anyone else will survive to see dawn.
Review Rating 3/5 :
I normally do not read too many novels with Angels and Demons and thought to give this book a try. I was quite excited because the subject matter tapped into my love of paranormal fantasy and paranormal romance. The story line and where the author wanted to take the reader was very well thought out, but I admit that I did not find myself fully engaged with some of the characters lives, or their goals for the future of mankind. The concept of one human having to face a decision to choose good or evil at the end of days, for the right of Angels or Demons to rule the earth was a brilliant idea. However, the course at which the author took this idea did not cement it’s believability as I was reading. Fiction, especially paranormal fiction to me, needs to feel real. I need to connect and I need to empathize with the character. It was frustrating to follow a young girl enduring so much tragedy during her life, all of which had to occur in order for her to get to the point of the “Choosing.” These tragedies in some parts felt glossed over and I didn’t feel the real impact of how it affected her character. Griffin, the female protagonist was a bit too submissive for my taste and I felt she relied too heavily on others to save her.
It seemed almost that in the first several chapters, one awful thing after another kept happening, and that events were written in haste. The length of the book seemed ta bit too long, with some of the action scenes being overly detailed. She easily befriends her tormentor towards the end of the book, which is something that certainly can be a surprising twist in a story. But the bonding between the two was rushed and left the relationship lacking for me.
I was intrigued however with the characters Arial and Gabriel. For me these two characters were an interesting blend of complexities and angst. A burgeoning love that originated from a close friendship, these two Angels were denied their feelings of intimacy. They are the soldiers of God and this gift of love and free will He reserves for humans only. Arial is a fallen Angel who asked God for the unthinkable. She wanted free will. She wanted to be human. This was denied and from their an unlikely alliance with Lucifer and Hell forms.
I was able to connect with Arial. Her desire to become something different than what she was born into, was wrenching. With her evil alliance, a darkening change developed in her character. She has been corrupted by Lucifer and Hell, and her overly obsessive desire to become human changes her into a monster. Something that I believe she did not want to become. Because of this, she was forced to do cruel and unspeakable acts to Griffin because Arial needed to be sure her side would win. I admit to hating her character in the beginning. But hating a character can bring out the emotions from a reader toward that character, and it can be powerful when said character tries to change during the course of the novel.
Gabriel is the good Angel. He chooses his Father over his love and friendship with Arial. There is a desire that he suppresses throughout the book that he does not own up to until the very end. I would have loved more emotional interaction between these two characters within the story. I found their relationship to be much more consuming than Griffin and Braxton’s.
If you love stories about Angels and Demons and the end of days, I would give this book a try.
Leave a Reply